Gardening 101: Green thumb or bust

We've been in our house just over two years now, and we've had a list of ideas and to-dos since before we got the keys. No, we don't have a plush, furnished office with an executive desk and scotch selections on a nearby side table à la Mad Men. Yet. Yes, we've only accomplished painting one room something other than the boring beige condition that we had no say over. And, no, we haven't done the flowers-bushes-mulch, repeat, around the front of the house like everyone else on our street. But I will say, our lone little maple looks pretty darn amazing this year.

Spring cleaning

Last Monday I took a day off work. I was so excited for a three-day weekend and at the possibility of accomplishing so many things around the house. I had plans (the most important one was to not go to work).

Clean the kitchen. Take out the trash. Get a colorful rug for our entryway. Pick up, vacuum and rearrange the living room. Do laundry AND put it all away (lofty goal). Work in a run. Replace the Winter Wonderland mantle décor with something springy and colorful. Enjoy a beer on the deck at some point during the supposed 50-degree day. Write a blog. Yes, all in one day. It would be equally restful and productive. I threw in a load of laundry, folded some towels and did some time on the treadmill. After cleaning up, I was ready to cross something bigger off the list. And, wow, it was already 10 a.m.

Sold

It started with an innocent look. Devin saw "model homes" signs on his way back from work one day. We decided to take a look, just for fun. They were small, split level houses that were nice but not suitable for us. The agent in the office suggested that we visit another model location close by to check out a few models that had more to offer.

While Devin grabbed a brochure outside, I walked right in the first house. I immediately fell in love with the space, motioning excitedly for Devin to catch up to me. He turned the corner, saw the kitchen and open layout, and immediately talk went from "This is nice" to "This is what we could do for this room."

The four-day weekend (part two)

Devin and I aren't huge on the shop-til-you-drop Friday madness, but we did end up going out (really without thinking about it) that afternoon to a bookstore. We're really cool people. Really.

They had some nice deals, and we ended up getting a few books, one of which is this huge cooking textbook (seriously) that Devin couldn't leave on the shelf. I really don't blame him. I'm excited to see what new levels his cooking takes on as he makes his way through the pages.